December 18, 2008 -- DE&S’s Imagery and Geospatial Systems (IMaGE) IPT has worked closely with industry to commence development of an agile, fit for purpose geospatial production capability for the Defence Geographic Centre (DGC) based in Feltham, Middlesex.

To meet this need they have partnered with geospatial imagery system specialists ESRI (UK) to secure a 5 year Enterprise Agreement (EA) for the use of its software throughout DGC; maximising the deployment of their software without cost being a barrier to take up. The EA will deliver benefits to the customer, allowing them to create a wide variety of geospatial products faster and more efficiently across the organisation. These geospatial products are vital to support the front line as they include maps and data used by troops, aircraft, mission planning, target acquisition and missile systems.

Enterprise Agreements (EAs) are a key commercial initiative for the MOD providing mutual benefits through a longer term commitment, creating costs savings and driving better economies and efficiencies for licensing, distribution and support. Although relatively simple in the benefits they look to achieve, they are complex to negotiate. A clear boundary definition must be agreed to permit the widest possible but managed use of software.

The EA has been the result of many months of hard work and close collaboration between IMaGE IPT, ESRI (UK) and DGC. Lee Butler of ESRI (UK) said “A particular challenge was the need to negotiate an innovative contract taking into account both MOD and ESRI legal and commercial terms. This is a strategically important capability for DGC and we are proud to have played our part.” Ian Smith, the IMaGE Team Leader commented “This agreement will provide a better capability to the Defence Geographic Centre at a lower through life cost.”

About ESRI (UK)

Established in 1989, ESRI (UK) is a British company that is part of the ESRI network, the world’s leading supplier of commercial off the shelf (COTS) GIS capability to the defence and national security community for almost 40 years. As the UK’s leading authority on GIS, ESRI (UK) works with the MOD, DE&S, business partners and the Systems Integrator community to provide best of breed solutions across the land, air, sea and joint domains.